Do Exam Results Actually Impact Your Future?

ith exams over, millions of students have been relieved of all the pressure that had mounted over the past few months. First the preparations for the exams, then appearing for them and finally the long wait for the results to be out (trust me it feels like an eternity).But really does the pressure end here?Hereafter, the actual social comparisons begin in full swing with the parents more active this time than the students themselves.

The Parent’s Dilemma

Thanks to social media, these days, spreading information has become a matter of just a click.

Who’s daughter has taken the flight to great marks and who’s son has flunked in a subject, everything would be up there in a matter of just a few seconds. Proud parents flaunting their kid’s grades, while many others sulking with the fact that their kid couldn’t achieve the desired “one mark more than a neighbor’s or a relative’s kid.

And then how can we forget our distant relatives, who would find just the right opportunity to offer some unsolicited information on your kid’s future aspirations and what they should do.

OKAY!

Good Grades as a Benchmark

Having mentioned all of this, It is actually true that we cannot run away from the fact that in India, the board exams and the marks do play an important role – NOT TO FORGET – for just one fact, that is, getting into a highly reputed college or university.

But again, this is limited to a few fields such as Arts, Commerce, etc.

Whereas, others like Engineering, MBBS, Law, etc. ask for separate entrance exams like the JEE, CLAT, etc. Even getting into a good MBA college would demand you to have good percentile in your CAT, GMAT entrance exams.

So, the overall hype around acquiring good grades does not hold true and for sure makes students overly stressed without any actual reason to do so. 

I would not say, good grades really do not hold any value. They are quite essential, particularly to show a consistent record of academics. 

But it surely doesn’t mean that it is the whole and the sole deciding factor to determine one’s capability.

Importance of Skills, Expertise, et al

Current times demand more holistically equipped and knowledgeable professionals than just people with good grades. 

Practical skills, ethical values, creativity, team spirit, leadership qualities, drive to succeed, all play an equally important role in making up for a great and successful career in any field today. 

Grades here would simply play the role of numbers hereafter.

Learning Opportunity

"I failed my exam in some subjects but my friend passed. Now he is an engineer in Microsoft and I’m the Owner" – Bill Gates

More and more people are moving towards entrepreneurship these days, which obviously won’t ask for good grades, but the expertise to bring in people together to successfully run a great business.

In my opinion, poor grades in exams should be highly considered as a much-needed factor in order to give you that extra push to do better maybe next time. 

It would motivate you automatically to keep your setbacks aside, or rather learn from them by taking them in your stride and learning early on in life to accept challenges.

Agreed – Disappointment is a part of poor grades, but using that information and turning it into an opportunity is always better than sulking over it and doing nothing.

Without any setbacks, life would rather never give us a chance to explore our limits. So even if your kid does get poor grades, you can always push them to achieve more the next time, asking them to learn from their mistakes. 

At least now they know where things went wrong. Having that knowledge is also quite essential and beneficial.

Social Stigma Issues

Only the thing worth considering here is the social stigma associated with the 10th or 12th exam results (especially in India), or simply the marks, which people have already marked as a deciding factor of one’s future.

Its psychological impact upon the kids is certainly something worth considering as well here, as this is something that puts them in a pressure-cooker like situation before the exams itself.

I conclude hereby saying that certainly, good grades could be thought of as stepping-stones towards a brighter future, but they surely do not sum up for the absolute development and growth of an individual and cannot decide upon anyone’s worth and capabilities.